ORLANDO, Fla. — DeAndre Daniels arrived at UConn's hotel Friday and immediately had a massage to work out the spasms in his back. On Saturday morning, coach Kevin Ollie went to work massaging out whatever it was the Huskies were doing in the last 10 minutes Thursday night at Cincinnati.

No. 22 UConn had a day off from practice Friday, giving Daniels some time to get healthy. It wasn't a leisurely day. It was filled with film sessions to go over what the Huskies did wrong late in the loss at Fifth Third Arena, the cool, rainy weather here making the study time much more tolerable.

Not that the Huskies had any choice. Ollie was as angry Thursday night as he has been during his short time as head coach, not because his team lost but because of the manner in which it lost.

"It was just lack of effort, not anything (Cincinnati) did," Ollie said Saturday. "But those are things we can correct. We let an opportunity slip away. That's why I was a little snappy after the game. That's a great opportunity that we let slip away.

"We're going to get one if we keep working and doing the things we have to do."

Fortunately for the Huskies (17-5, 5-4 American Athletic Conference), they don't have much time to ruminate on what was lost. They get right back at it today against reeling Central Florida (9-11, 1-8) at CFE Arena.

Daniels missed Thursday's game against the Bearcats because of the back spasms. It was the second straight game he sat, the first because of the injured right ankle he declared to be 100 percent healthy now. The junior forward practiced fully Saturday without any restrictions. He will return to the lineup today depending on his back.

His issue is just one a few the Huskies are dealing with on the health front. Ryan Boatright has a sore left shoulder sustained Thursday night. Shabazz Napier has been working through left ligament issues for a week or so. None of those things compare to the injury — self-inflicted, in Ollie's view — of Thursday night.

"We had a big scout, a lot of film session," said Napier, who said he isn't affected much by the wrist problem. "Coach was telling us we did a lot of god things, but the little mistakes were epic. At the end of it he was saying we were in good shape in that game. Our best player didn't play and we were down by two points with two minutes left.

"We understand that with DeAndre in there it's s whole different game. I'm pretty sure with him on the court we would have won."

But they didn't and now the Huskies try to erase that memory against a Knights team that is in full-on desperation mode. Central Florida has lost seven straight, a streak that started with UConn's 84-61 triumph at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 11.

UCF entered that game leading the AAC in rebounding yet UConn held a commanding 50-34 edge in that category in the first meeting. The Knights continue to lead the league in rebounding, but the Huskies have been much better in that regard of late. Rebounding is still Ollie's emphasis, as is stopping UCF's Isaiah Sykes, who leads the team in scoring rebounding and assists.

But for Ollie it's about more than the technical aspects. The mental approach might be more important.

"It's about us growing," Ollie said. "It's about us responding to that loss. It was a tough loss but every team is going to face that. Can we respond now? That's the challenge I put to those guys. The great thing about our team is they put the challenge to themselves. That's when I know we're getting better as a team."

Worth noting: UConn forward DeAndre Daniels (back spasms) practiced Saturday and is expected to play. However, he was also expected to play Thursday at Cincinnati before his back flared up ... UCF forward Isaiah Sykes averages 17.7 points and 9.2 rebounds in American Athletic Conference play. He leads the Knights in scoring, rebounding and assists ... UConn has made one other trip to UCF, winning 85-82 on Dec. 28, 2007 ... UConn is 3-3 on the road this year, 2-3 within the league ... The Knights are coming off a 79-78 overtime home loss against South Florida on Wednesday night ... UCF is playing a ranked team for the fourth time in five games ... The Knights are the worst free-throw shooting team in the ACC at 60 percent. UConn leads the league at 77 percent ... UCF is allowing 77.4 points per game in AAC play and allowing league teams to shoot 49 percent ... UConn's Shabazz Napier (left wrist) and Ryan Boatright (left shoulder) are nursing injuries but they aren't severe enough to keep them from playing ... The Huskies return home for a Wednesday night game at the XL Center against South Florida, the only league team they have yet to play despite being halfway through the AAC campaign.

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